Rugby: Kiwi Dave Rennie a big step closer to Wallabies job as Eddie Jones rules out return

Former Chiefs coach Dave Rennie, now with the Glasgow Warriors, is the favourite to take over as Wallabies boss. Photo / Getty

Australian-born England head coach Eddie Jones has ruled himself out of becoming Michael Cheika's successor to take over the Wallabies after this year's Rugby World Cup.

With Cheika's contract set to run out later this year, Jones has been tipped as a potential replacement but told the Sydney Morning Herald he intended to stay in Europe and said he believed Australia instead needed a "generational change".

"I am happy in Europe," Jones said, who was in charge of the Wallabies at the 2003 World Cup. "The Wallabies need a generational change in culture."

With Jones out of the picture, former Chiefs head coach Dave Rennie looks set to take over the side when the controversial Cheika departs, while fellow Kiwi Warren Gatland is also still in the mix.

Eddie Jones looks on during the Six Nations match between England and Scotland. Photo / Getty

It's not the first time Jones has snubbed a potential coaching opportunity after he said he had no intention of putting his name forward for the next Lions assignment, a tour of South Africa in 2021.

The 59-year-old told the Sydney Daily Telegraph newspaper coaching the Lions — seen as a great sporting challenge — was not for him.

"The last thing I want to do is spend eight weeks in a blazer," he said. "That's an ambassador job. I'm a coach. I'd rather coach the Queensland Sheffield Shield team."

They were labelled bizarre comments considering the Lions' storied history and the image of the men who have led them but could also be seen as a put down of Gatland, who guided the Lions to a surprise drawn series against the All Blacks in 2017.

Meanwhile, Australia's director of rugby Scott Johnson has reportedly set out an aggressive pitch to retain some of their top overseas-based coaches, officials, and support staff.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports Johnson had approached Fiji's strength and conditioning coach John Pryor in an attempt to lure him back before targeting Scott Wisemantel, who coaches alongside Jones in England.